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Yahoo
01-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US Promotes Birth Incentives, But Fails Mothers: New Report Reveals Stark Wage Gaps Ahead of Mother's Day
While political leaders debate pronatalist policies, new IWPR data shows the US economy isn't built to support the mothers we already have—moms are penalized with lower pay in every state. WASHINGTON, May 1, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- As the nation gears up to celebrate Mother's Day, a new report from the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) confronts the harsh economic reality facing American moms. Timed to coincide with Mother's Day—and gaining added relevance amid a growing national conversation around motherhood—IWPR's 2025 Mom's Equal Pay Day report reveals that mothers remain deeply undervalued where it counts most—in their paychecks. Across the country, moms still face staggering wage penalties, earning far less than fathers, with some making less than half as much, especially if they are Black, Latina, or Native American. "This should be a moment to celebrate and uplift mothers, and the multitude of roles they play inside and outside of our homes," said Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, president and CEO of IWPR. "Instead, the data show that we're systematically devaluing their work—both paid and unpaid." Despite rising workforce participation—nearly 74 percent of moms with children under 13 were employed or actively seeking work in 2024—mothers earned just 61.8 cents for every dollar paid to fathers in 2023. Across all 50 states and DC, at least half of all mothers worked full-time year-round. And even when doing so, the gap improves only slightly, to 74.3 cents—a $19,000 annual income loss. IWPR 's state-level analysis depicts just how deep the gaps run (see full state-level data here): Utah mothers earned just 43.9 cents per dollar—the widest gap in the country. Louisiana mothers working full-time year-round earned only 62.1 cents per dollar. In DC, mothers earned the most ($80,000), but still $45,000 less than fathers—the largest dollar gap in the US. Only Vermont and Rhode Island paid full-time working mothers more than 80 cents per dollar compared to fathers. The gaps are even more severe for mothers of color: Latina mothers earned just 42.7 cents per dollar compared to White fathers. In New Jersey, the gap was even worse—just 29.8 cents on the dollar. Native American and Black mothers consistently earned less than half of what White fathers earned, even with full-time work. The report arrives on the heels of last month's Department of Health and Human Services cuts to critical maternal and child health programs—and amid new proposals from the Trump administration to offer cash bonuses to married parents as a response to the country's declining birth rate. But IWPR researchers say these pronatalist policies miss the point and, without structural reforms, ignore the real costs of parenting. "You can't bonus your way out of a birth rate crisis when motherhood comes with a $19,000 pay cut," said Taylor. "The economy for parents is broken—and we're failing the very people that we expect to grow it." IWPR calls for urgent policy action to tackle the root causes of the motherhood penalty: Paid family and medical leave Affordable, accessible child care Fair scheduling and workplace protections Enforcement of pay equity and salary transparency Access to comprehensive reproductive and maternal health care "This Mother's Day, a bouquet of flowers won't cut it," said Taylor. "If we truly want to honor moms—especially the ones we already have—we need policy, not platitudes." You can read the full report and state-by-state earnings data here. The Institute for Women's Policy Research strives to win economic equity for all women and eliminate barriers to their full participation in society. As a leading national think tank, IWPR builds evidence to shape policies that grow women's power and influence, close inequality gaps, and improve the economic well-being of families. Learn more at and follow us on Twitter. Media Contact Chandler Rollins, Institute for Women's Policy Research, 314-610-0896, rollins@ View original content: SOURCE Institute for Women's Policy Research Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
09-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
A 'painfully American problem:' At SXSW, Chelsea Clinton, Bumble exec talk abortion access
When South By Southwest held its major abortion panel a year ago, the largest ballroom was filled with people wanting to hear from abortion advocates Amanda Zurawski and Samantha Casiano along with Nancy Northrup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Elizabeth Monteleone, chief legal officer for Austin-based online dating platform Bumble Inc. This year, Northrup and Monteleone returned along with Chelsea Clinton, vice chair of the Clinton Foundation and producer of the documentary "Zuwarski v. Texas;" and Jamila K. Taylor, the president and CEO of the Institute for Women's Policy Research. This year, the focus was on what businesses could do to support abortion access. The convention center room was only one-third full, while a line outside the room snaked through several levels to see a keynote with actor Joe Manganiello next door. Clinton said access to abortion "is not just about patient health and well-being, it is a matter of society, economic and fiscal health." She meets people who will say to her: "It's terrible what's happening to women in Arkansas," where she grew up before her father became president; "It's terrible what's happening in Texas. It's terrible what's happening in Idaho." Then she turns it to, "Do you see what's happening in America in the year of our Lord 2025?" Abortion access is a "painfully American" problem, "one we think that everyone needs to bear witness to," Clinton said. Northup said Americans "have to have a rallying cry: 'Remember Dobbs,'" a play on the Texas slogan "Remember the Alamo" and a reference to the 2022 Supreme Court decision that undid the abortion access protections of 1973's Roe v. Wade decision. Taylor delivered the statistics of why this is a business problem with recent study from her Institute for Women's Policy Research: The U.S. economy loses $68 billion a year because of a lack of access to abortion, and Texas loses $16 billion a year. This is due to women not being able to participate in the labor force in the way that women with access to abortion can, she said. "Abortion restrictions continue to be hugely unpopular, and it is having a broad effect," Taylor said. The Dobbs decision and the Senate Bill 8 in Texas in 2021 caused Bumble to re-evaluate its health insurance and change its policies to include travel funds, women's reproductive health benefits through Maven Clinic, postpartum and other mental health support through Spring Health, and even change its health insurance company to offer more reproductive health. "It was a no-brainer,' she said. These laws "have real impact to our employees." Northrup encourages employees, both men and women, to visit with their benefits coordinator and ask for the coverage they need: that can include travel benefits to access care, in vitro fertilization and other fertility coverage, mental health care, and better parental health leave. Benefits like these are what employees want and seek when applying for jobs, Monteleone said, and they are using the coverage. At her company, 50% of employees have used the Maven and the Spring Health benefits. Clinton encouraged employees to also ask their companies to give paid-time off for voting. "When everyone participates in our democracy — even if you don't agree with me, I want you to vote —that is how we have a restored sense that our democracy is us." Clinton also took a stab at Texas politicians including the Attorney General Ken Paxton, the Texas Supreme Court justices and legislators. "They do not represent the will of the people in the state," she said. "We have to move from seeing this as a social issue into a business issue or an employee issue," Monteleone said. "... It is health care. That is something companies should be able to get behind because it is impacting your workforce." While many employers won't post on social media about reproductive care access or put up a billboard in Times Square like Bumble has, they can go to their state legislators and U.S. senators and representatives to lobby for access for their employees. They can remind lawmakers that "their employees don't want to work in the state of Texas or the other states where abortion is banned," Northup said. A recent Institute for Women's Policy Research survey of 10,000 people found that 1 in 5 were moving or knew someone who was moving out of a state because of abortion access. "It's not safe for anyone that is of reproductive age to be in a state that bans abortion access," Northup said. "... It's not a good business environment." Taylor backed it up with a statistic: hospitals in states without abortion access have a 62% higher maternal death rate than hospitals in states with access. Infant mortality rates also increase, she said. "Starting the conversation is so important,' Northrup said. For more information, businesses can email corporateinfo@ This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: SXSW speaker: Lack of abortion access costs Texas $16 billion per year
